NFL: Black ex-coaches say Rooney Rule is broken

NEW ORLEANS – Three black former NFL head coaches say the league needs to rethink its Rooney Rule for promoting minority hires.

Fifteen top vacancies – eight head coaching jobs and seven general manager positions – were all filled by white candidates since the regular season ended a month ago.

“I know the concept is good and something we need to do,” said Tony Dungy, who became the first black coach to win a Super Bowl in 2006 with the Indianapolis Colts. “Obviously, it’s not working the way it should.”

The Rooney Rule, implemented in 2003, was named for Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney, who steadfastly pushed the league to require every team to interview at least one minority candidate every time a coaching or general manager position opened.

Before the rule went into effect, the NFL had had only six minority head coaches in more than 80 years. Since it has been in place, 12 have been hired.

But none were hired this year to replace the two black coaches who were fired – Romeo Crennel in Kansas City and Lovie Smith in Chicago – and the one fired black GM, Rod Graves in Arizona.

Former Jets coach Herm Edwards called for not only revising the rule but perhaps changing its name.

“When you use the Rooney Rule, and not correctly, you put a little bit of a bad mark on Mr. Rooney’s name, and that is not good,” Edwards said. “If it keeps going this way, we might need to take his name off the rule. It is not being used in the right manner that Mr. Rooney meant it to be.”

Robert Gulliver, the NFL’s executive vice president of human resources, said the hiring results were “disappointing.” He expects to make revisions in the rule.

The Fritz Pollard Alliance, a group of minority coaches and front-office, scouting and game-day NFL officials, wants the Rooney Rule expanded to apply to coordinators, assistant head coaches and club president positions.

Unlike Dungy and Edwards, Jim Caldwell is still coaching as an assistant. His Baltimore Ravens will play the San Francisco 49ers in Sunday’s Super Bowl. But he wasn’t invited to interview for one of the eight vacant coaching jobs.

Fired as the Colts’ coach following the 2011 season, Caldwell joined the Ravens as quarterbacks coach. When head coach John Harbaugh fired offensive coordinator Cam Cameron in December, Caldwell was promoted. With his guidance, Baltimore’s offense responded.

Caldwell led the Colts to the Super Bowl 3 years ago after replacing the retired Dungy. Only after Peyton Manning being sidelined for the 2011 season was Caldwell fired.

“It has been a great rule, and it has worked in the past,” he said. “Just like anything else, you have to – after a certain period of time – revisit it and take a look and see if it needs a little tweaking. I think it does, in this particular case.”

Dungy said he believes the entire system is broken. He cited 21 head coaching jobs changing in a 3-year span, which he said indicates owners are making the wrong hires, regardless of race.

The last black head coach hiring – other than coaches promoted from within, like Leslie Frazier, Raheem Morris, Mike Singletary, Hue Jackson and Crennel – was Mike Tomlin by Pittsburgh, in 2007.

“I am not saying you have to hire a minority candidate. No one is saying that,” Edwards said. “I am saying you can’t be blinded. It can’t be, ‘Who is the guy to interview to get this out of the way?’ “

“The problem I have is you don’t really abide by the Rooney Rule the correct way,” he said.